Okay. Maybe it’s time to take a breath about The Hurt Locker. [Ed. note: take a moment to read an interview with the film’s Anthony Mackie and see how he supports the troops.] Some vets are offended that it wasn’t completely accurate. Fair enough. It wasn’t a documentary. Films about, say journalists (All the President’s Men, or Broadcast News, for example) aren’t, either, but they’re entertaining and provide SOME insight. I’m not all that sure Wall Street was completely accurate, but it was educational in a way.

So, Hurt Locker, didn’t provide absolute accuracy. The explosions were too pretty for my taste, but it was a feature film. What can we take from it?

There’s a feeling across the land that Americans aren’t engaged in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. Americans feel it, veterans sense it, and that might be what we should expect.

There’s no draft. Until the 70s, if there was an 18-year-old male in a household, there was at least a reasonable chance that he’d be in the military. Today, that isn’t the case. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not arguing for a draft. Today’s military is too good to go back to that model. But, as great and talented and committed as our troops are, they’re a really small part of the population. When they get out of the military, they tend to do what every generation of veterans does – go to school, get jobs, raise families and be extremely valuable parts of their communities.

Few wear their decorations on their suits. Very few even let you know they served, unless you ask them. They just become the strongest threads of the fabric of this country.

Part of me would like welcome home parades and all that kind of thing. A big part of me would love for the country to take a moment – it can even be a random moment – to thank troops and their families for their service and sacrifice. Not because those of us who served a generation ago didn’t get that, but because it would be a proper and polite thing to do. It’s about more than thanking a service member in an airport. It’s about more than misting up on Memorial Day. It’s about recognizing that service and sacrifice are responsibilities each of us bears in different ways. Some just run the risk of paying a higher price.

And, understand the stress of one deployment to Afghanistan to Iraq can be debilitating in some ways. Never mind 3 or 4 deployments. These troops and vets need our support and understanding. Our wounded warriors shouldn’t be ignored, either.

So, maybe this Best Picture Academy Award® (I love trademarks) winner deserves something more from us. Maybe it requires that we look at it as a learning opportunity. In our communities there are OIF/OEF vets quietly putting their lives back together, and they are doing their part to making our lives better.

Let’s return the favor.

Their journey is everyone's responsibility. From the moment they enlist, through their assignments and deployments, and as they transition back to their communities, they can rely on your support.